Lexie Thompson can go nearly 40 minutes without touching the ball.
Then, in a matter of seconds, she can become the most important player on the field.
That is the reality of playing as goalkeeper for UB women’s soccer. While the players in front of her can spend an entire match constantly involved in the action, Thompson must remain focused for the one shot that could be the difference between winning a game, or losing one.
“You have to do your job to stay connected, keep yourself focused,” Thompson said. “Because you could have that one moment that could change the whole game.”
While many goalkeepers begin as field players before eventually making their way into the net, the position drew Thompson almost immediately.
“There was just something about it that I was like, ‘That looks a little crazy. That looks fun. I want to try that,’” Thompson said. “And it just kind of stuck.”
Years later, that decision has turned into the daily grind of being a Division I goalkeeper.
Her experience is different from most of her teammates.
After warm up, the goalkeepers break away from the team for roughly 30 minutes of position-specific training, allowing the keepers to focus on the intricate details of the position
That separation is something that continues into matches.
“You’re kind of on an island back there,” Thompson said.
But being separated physically does not mean Thompson is disconnected from her teammates. In fact, she may be the loudest player on the pitch at times.
From her position in goal, Thompson is the only player that can see the entire pitch developing in front of her. She takes advantage of this to point out runners and open space to the Bulls’ defense, along with helping to organize the backline during transitions.
“I come out of games and I lose my voice,” Thompson said. “Sometimes I might look like a lunatic.”
But there are moments when organizing the players in front of her is no longer enough.
When an attacker breaks through and Thompson is left with a breakaway, instinct takes over.
Thompson watches the attacker’s touch, whether another player is making a run toward the back post and whether the attacker appears ready to shoot. Once the attacker takes a big enough touch, Thompson closes down the space and tries to make herself as difficult to beat as possible.
The moment often happens so quickly that Thompson barely remembers it afterward. The technical work done in practice makes her decisions then second nature.
“Sometimes, I’ve noticed that during those breakaways, I almost go blank,” Thompson said. “A lot of the time I’ll try to look back on those big breakaway moments, I don’t actually remember what I did.”
Penalty kicks present an entirely different challenge.
Before games, UB’s coaching staff studies whether an opponent has taken any penalties and which players are most likely to take them. Thompson can then enter a potential penalty situation knowing where a player has previously preferred to shoot.
Once the player approaches the ball, Thompson looks for smaller clues. The direction of the player’s eyes, the positioning of their hips and the way they approach the ball can all provide information.
But Thompson also understands the advantage belongs to the shooter.
“You’re not supposed to save them. They’re supposed to go in the net,” Thompson said. “I look at them as you have nothing to lose.”
The highs and lows can be more extreme than almost anywhere else on the field.
A misplaced pass by a field player can be recovered by a teammate, but a goalkeeper’s mistake can end with the ball in the back of the net.
“Sometimes you feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders,” Thompson said. “You mess up, and a lot of the time it ends up in the net.”
Thompson has learned that dealing with those moments is just as important as making saves.
She considers her ability to recover after allowing a goal one of the biggest areas of growth in her game. Rather than allowing a mistake or goal to affect the rest of her performance, Thompson focuses on making the next play as cleanly as possible.
Her teammates also play a role in that mindset, where Thompson knows that the 10 players in front of her will have her back regardless of how the game goes.
Even when a goal feels like it falls on her shoulders, she reminds herself that the Bulls win and lose games as a team.
That relationship between the goalkeeper and the rest of the team is also why she believes the position can be misunderstood.
Goalkeepers can receive credit for a shutout or blame for a loss, but their responsibilities extend far beyond making saves.
It is a position built around contradictions.
Thompson can spend long stretches of a match by herself before suddenly being the center of attention. She can receive vast praise after securing a clean sheet but also criticism after conceding a goal. She must remain composed with the knowledge that one decision can affect the outcome of the match.
“We start the attack. We stop the opposing attack,” Thompson said. “We have to know everybody’s role on the field. You have to know where everybody’s supposed to be, what their job is.”
But Thompson would not trade these challenges for the world.
“I think there’s a lot more that goes into goalkeeping than maybe people realize or understand sometimes,” Thompson said. “The uniqueness of it, and maybe why it’s so misunderstood, is why I love it so much.”
Will Meyer is the senior sports editor and can be reached at will.meyer@ubspectrum.com.
